Lippy Stuff

Dear Bosco,

You are now 11-weeks old. I wish I could add the word 'months' onto the end of that 11 because I am oh-so-tired and you are oh-so-full of energy. You are just a bit more than either of us bargained for. Don't get me wrong...you're adorable as all get out, but you can also be as ornery as a tired toddler hopped up on sugar.

We've started referring to you as our baby barracuda. Can you guess why?



You really like to chomp on things with those teeth. We try to keep them occupied with toys and bones, but you quickly lose interest and turn your attention to more interesting things to destroy like couches and rugs.

When you're not busy chewing on things we are doing our best to teach you important dog things like sit and down and how to walk on a leash. You're almost too smart for your own good and picking up on things faster than we can teach you. Yesterday you went for your first walk around the neighborhood and you seemed to have a pretty good time, except for when those big trucks would roar by or those scary dogs barked at you. You've already learned which one is your house, and it's really cute how excited you get when you realize we're close to home.

Clearly you are becoming more comfortable with us as your "pack" because you are starting to let loose more of your attitude. Information we read on your breed indicated you might be a strong willed dog and that we would need to be experienced dog owners and confident leaders. I think they should have used stronger adjectives to describe your potential personality. At this young age you are already trying to assert your dominance in our pack and we are having to learn a whole new definition of "firm" with you.

This doesn't mean you aren't a good dog. You are a wonderful dog...you're just stubborn as hell. But you're also sweet and cuddly and love to give puppy kisses in the morning. I love your puppy kisses. You're also really cute when you come bounding across the yard at me, your ears flopping every which way and your too-big-for-you legs going in every direction. When you run you look like your back end is out of alignment.

Neither one of us has ever had a puppy this young, so please forgive us if we aren't doing this right. We're trying our best to be patient with you and understand your little puppy brain can only do so much. And even though sometimes we wonder what the heck we got ourselves into, we really love you and have lots of hopes for your future doggy life.

Love,
Your pack leaders

We survived the first night with Bosco much better than I expected. He slept through the night in his crate (in our room). Matt took him out around 6am to potty and then we got to cuddle in bed with him for a couple of hours. OMG! Every day should start with puppy cuddles!



He is quite the sleeper. Seriously, this little dude can sleep through anything. I, on the other hand, did not sleep so great, mostly because I like to worry. I spent the night worrying if he was going to sleep through the night and is he healthy and what about that little ball of sleep I wiped from his eye. Oh my. It's going to take some time to get used to having a healthy dog. I think I'll feel much better once he gets his last round of shots and gets the all clear from our vet.



We are starting to see bits of his personality already. He's one determined little guy. Once he found the handle to the hose reeler in the backyard there was no keeping him away from it. Even physically removing him from the area proved pointless. He'd play for a minute and then run right back to it. And whoo boy! He does not like it when you stop him from doing something he wants to do. I'm definitely going to need human training for this dog.



Stubbornness aside, I think he's going to be a really great dog. He's super sweet, likes to cuddle and give kisses and is unbearably adorable when he pounces on his toys. He also seems to pick things up pretty quickly. He's starting to respond to his name and has already figured out the back stairs, which means potty training is in full swing.



Right now he's zonked out by the couch. Which is the only reason I can actually type this right now. Keeping up with him is definitely going to keep us on our toes. But come on...look at that face. He's totally worth it.

So, life's been pretty busy the last couple of weeks. We spent a week in Boston/New England, came back and then 3 days later rocked until we dropped at ACL Fest. So yeah, busy. I have a TON of pictures to share with you and can't wait to get them posted, but that's going to have to wait because right now I have to share THIS with you!



This is Bosco, our new Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy. He's 10 weeks old today and quite the bouncy little fellow. We've been searching for just the right puppy to add to our family and I think he's going to be the perfect fit. Just look at those paws. That's going to be a Matt sized dog right there.

Rest assured there will be many more Bosco pictures to come.

We're hoping to have something fun and exciting to share with you this weekend, but until then, enjoy the cuteness.

Day 3 down, and ACL 2010 is over. Well, technically The Eagles are still playing, but three days in the sun, heat and ragweed and a lackluster lineup for this evening had us heading out the gates around 7:30pm. Oh, and I'm old. If you've paid attention to my previous posts you may be noticing a theme.

True confessions? Today was not awesome. The fact that my allergies were in overdrive certainly didn't help, but the lineup was disappointing. There were, however, a couple of surprises. We caught the last half of Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue. Wow, talk about energy. That guy can PLAY the trombone. We also caught Portugal: The Man, which was pretty darn good. Oh, and by caught I mean we laid down in the shade near the stage and snoozed a bit. Seriously, three days of this is exhausting. Not to mention the fact that we biked there and back each day.

My favorite show of the day was the White Rabbits. I picked up their latest album earlier this year and it quickly became one of my favorites. I was super stoked to see them on the ACL lineup, and they did not disappoint live. The only disappointment was the crowd's lack of enthusiasm, but I'll cut them some slack since it was Day 3 and an early show.

I'll be uploading pics this week (not tonight...tonight I drink a cocktail or two) and will share them once I have them up. And until next year, rock on!

Day 2 is over. Whew. I think I'm getting to old for this. Today's favs were Broken Bells, LCD Soundsystem, Temper Trap and MUSE. Matt and I saw Muse at ACL back in 2006 when they were lesser known and played a much smaller stage, and a thousand OMG's, it was the best show I've ever seen. Hands down. All I can say is if you ever get the chance to see them live DO IT. And while I know I said I would wait until after the weekend to post pics, I had to share one from the MUSE show because it was just that awesome.



I had to sacrifice the Deadmau5 show to get close for MUSE, and I have to say I think I missed a freaking awesome show. Sadness. And while I got some sweet shots of MUSE being so close (thank you, Mr. Stool), it was packed so tight I could hardly move. That kind of killed my MUSE buzz, because for me MUSE = DANCE!!! Such are the first world dilemmas of ACL.

And finally, weird incident of the day. I got hit on at the LCD Soundsystem show, and I'm pretty sure he was under 18. It's getting harder to tell these days. And that's the second reference to me being old. Anyhow, this dude's gaze was super intense. I felt like he was trying to bore a hole through my face with his laser stare, and at one point it kind of looked like he was leaning in to kiss me. Dude seriously needs to learn the difference between "sorry I bumped into you" and "I want to randomly hook up with you". It reminded me why I had to perfect the "back the hell up off me" vibe, or as my dad liked to say during my single days, I "intimidate men".

Being a woman at any festival type event is extra special when nature calls. Unless you can hold it all day (and if you can may I please have your super power?), you're going to have to break down and use one of those disgusting port-o-potties at some point. Here are a few things I've learned to help make that "experience" more bearable, as well as some other general festival going tips:

1. Take disinfecting wipes to clean off the toilet seat in the port-o-potties. Even if you don't sit, it will help you feel like you're picking up fewer cooties. You can also use them to clean off your hands. If you can't find a travel pack of them, take a few out of the big cannister, fold them up and put in a plastic baggie.

2. Toilet paper. Take it. You are almost certain to pick the port-o-pottie that has no toilet paper because pretty much none of them do.

3. Hand sanitizer. Need I say more?

4. If you wear contacts, take your glasses, a lenses case and solution. You never know when your eyes are going to crap out and reject your contact lenses, and you don't want to have to be led around by a seeing eye person the rest of the day.

5. Water bottle. Hydration is key to surviving any day out in the sun, so take a water bottle and refill often. It also saves you money on buying water every time you need a refill. Also, YAY! Save the planet!

6. Last, but certainly not least, SUNSCREEN. If you're going to be out in the sun all day it should go without saying that you need to put on sunscreen. Apply 30 minutes before going out in the sun, and reapply every couple of hours. Use SPF 30 or higher on your body, and I recommend Neutrogena Age Shield Face sunblock for the face.

Hope these tips help you like they've helped me. Have fun out there!

Well, day 1 of ACL Fest is over, and I decided that tomorrow I will be bringing a stool for me to stand on so I can actually see the stage. What stool, you may ask? Why this one:

Let me tell you, being short sucks, and being short at a concert kind of makes you wonder why the heck you forked over so much money to stare at the back of people's heads. Hopefully this should help me get my money's worth.

My favs of the day were Spoon (AWESOME!), The Black Keys, and Miike Snow. I could have used a dance partner for the Miike Snow show (Andrea T???). I'll post pictures at the end of the weekend. Although Matt had to take most of the pics today since, as previously mentioned, I couldn't see squat.